Tape-measure.



No. 650,I36. Pateht'ed May 22, I900;

- V. A. RUNNETTE.

TAPE MEASURE.

(Application filed Sept. 6, 1898.)

(No model.)

wrrnisses 21: mvsn'ron v u a NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VIRGINIA RUNNETTE, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

TAPE-MEASURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 650,136,. dated May 22, 1900.

Application filed September 6, 1898. Serial No. 690,349. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VIRGINIA A. RUNNETTE,

of Pittsburg, in the countyof Alleghenyand State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Tape-Measures, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to. the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation of, a portion of a tape-line em bodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a rear View, Fig. 3 is an edge View, on a larger scale, and Fig. lis a front view, on a larger scale, of slide and tape; and Fig. 5 is an edge view of the slide.

My invention relates to adjustable gages or tapes and is intended to greatly facilitate placing hooks and eyes on garments and the location of buttons and buttonholes, and also to provide a simple and effective gage which maybe used in connection with tailoring and dressmaking in general.

The device is simple, cheap, and durable and in no Wise interferes with the use of the tape-line when not used as a gage.

In the drawings, 2 represents an ordinary tape, preferably made of flexible material and suitablygraduated on one or both sides. One end of the tape is provided with a pin 3 of the ordinary safety-pin type, and it is fastened to the same in any suitable manner.

Upon the tape is a slide 4., which is constructed in sucha manner that it may be adjusted to any desired point upon the tape. The slide tis provided with slots 5 5, through which the tape passes from the under side of the slide and over the central body portion.

The body portion 6 is preferably arched, as shown, so as to cause the tape to kink slightly in order to produce enough friction to prevent the accidental displacement of the tape after it has been properly adjusted. This arched construction also causes the tape to lie flat upon the goods to which it is sewed. The

body portion 6 at one end is provided with a pin 7, which is either integral with or suitably secured to the same and extends beneath body 6, which is provided at its opposite end with a retaining hook or guard 8 for the point of the pin when in its clasped position.

The pin 3 is fastened when sewing on hooks and eyes first to one side of the waist and then the opposite side, the slide 4 being moved downwardly the desired distance. The pin 7 on the slide t being pressed through the goods,

the tape will then be held by the pin 3 and the slide 4. with suflicient firmness so that it will not he accidentally displaced, the tape lying flat upon the goods, the graduations on the tape making it possible to locate the hooks, eyes, buttons, and buttonholes with accuracy opposite the desired graduations.

The slide may be used for various other purposes in dressmaking, such as locating the exact position of trimmings, and for the insuring of an accurate cutting of the length of skirts. The slide being placed the desired distance from the floor, the tape being suitably fastened thereto,and the tape being held at the waist-line, any disproportion inthe body cannot aifect the distance from the floor at which the slide is placed. The goods may be suitably marked, so that when out the bottom of the skirt will hang evenly. Other uses will suggest themselves to those skilled in the art of dressmaking and tailoring and many changes may be made in the form of the slide and the end fastening for the tape.

A further advantage is that the tape may be used for all the other purposes for which it is ordinarily used, as the slide does not interfere with such use.

Having fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A flexible tape-measure formed of a single continuous graduated strip, having a. safety-pin secured at one end for attaching such end to the cloth, and an intermediate adjustable slide movable over the graduations and provided with a safety-pin for securing the slide to the cloth; substantially as described.

2. A flexible tape-measure formed of a single continuous graduated strip, having a safety-pin secured at one end for attaching such end to the cloth, and an intermediate adjustable slide movable along the tape, said slide having a curved guide arranged to lift the tape above the cloth and being provided with a safety-pin for securing the slide to the cloth; substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

VIRGINIA A. RUNNETTE. 

